Massacre At Indian Hospital; 30 Infants Die Due To Oxygen Shortage

Oxygen supplies at an Indian government hospital ran dangerously low on Thursday and into Friday and left 30 infants and children dead. Witnesses said it was a chaotic scene amid medical practitioners and relatives handed out manual resuscitator bags attempting to save the young patients.

It was learned later the liquid oxygen supply was disrupted due to unpaid bill.

Indian home ministry spokesman confirmed 21 deaths were linked directly to the shortage of oxygen citing police reports.

Father of one young victim said they saw the children dying around them and it is the fault of the hospital.

Blaming the authorities of Baba Raghav Das Medical College hospital in Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh, for the negligence he added his son was fine but something wrong happened after 11 p.m.

On Saturday two more children died and the government suspended the medical college principal.

Meanwhile, hospital officials and health minister have denied the charges claiming the deaths of young patients were not due to the result of oxygen bill dispute.

Officials added about 60 children have died since August 7 in the same hospital.

Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath said the guilty will not be spared, calling the tragedy despicable.

He added a committee has been set up to investigate the cause of death and role of the oxygen vendor.

Widespread outrage and condemnation have been provoked from across the country including political spectrum and social media.

Indian Nobel Peace prize winner Kailash Satyarthi said the incidence is not a tragedy, but a massacre.

The child advocate added, “Is this what 70 years of freedom means for our children?”

India will celebrate 70th independence anniversary on August 15.

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Paul Linus - Paul Linus is an eminent online journalist who has been writing news, features and editorials on different websites from across the world for about a decade.